


Promises in the Dark

by Charl_Meister94



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Drama & Romance, F/M, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:20:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22556995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charl_Meister94/pseuds/Charl_Meister94
Summary: Forever isn't promised to anyone and neither Katara nor Zuko is under any illusion that their secret romance will last forever. But if just for a little while, in the moments they have together, forever does seem possible even in its fragility.
Relationships: Aang & Katara (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Mai & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 132





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've always wanted to write a Zutara fanfiction and after much brainstorming and free time between classes at work, this is what I've come up with. This is canon compliant and is set a little after the Southern Raiders. I hope you can enjoy it and thank you for reading.

It had been easy to keep secrets. Since his banishment, much of Zuko’s life had revolved around crooked lies to survive and evade the truth of his identity. An identity he’d once been proud of and had almost died to protect. An identity that had been completely corrupted through the actions of his father to perpetuate and worsen the suffering of the other nations. His scar had always been evidence of that, but it had taken the agony of wrestling with the good and evil within him to realize that truth.  
  


But secrets became harder to contain when you no longer had to hide behind a stoic and ruthless façade. He was no longer the exiled prince; bitter and angry and desperate to restore his honor and have his father’s approval. The truth of him was molded in the battle for freedom against the Fire Nation’s continued oppression; he was the Avatar’s firebending teacher. A friend to the rebellion. The hope for a reformed Fire Nation. And Katara’s lover.  
  


His fingers brushed like a whisper over her warm cheek, tucking wisps of brown hair behind her ear. She roused beside him with a low and tired hum, lashes fluttering over deep blue eyes peeking up at him. She smiled and settled back into sleep with a contented sigh. He saw the bashful wink of her left dimple. The sheet slipped from her bare shoulder to the slope of her small breast.   
  


“Katara,” he rasped out, curving a hand over her waist.  
  


“Hmm.”  
  


“You have to get up. The sun’s rising.” The firebender felt the natural heat like a sharp frisson through his limbs that built in intensity as the sun’s rays pierced through the shadows of dawn.  
  


“Let me sleep for a little longer,” she pleaded, voice soft and sultry as she slipped closer to his warm body.  
  


“We don’t have ‘a little longer’,” he countered, hand gripping into the smooth dip of her waist to shake her gently. “You don’t want us to be found do you?”  
  


Her lips were close to his chest that he felt the impression of her pout, “No, I don’t.” She opened her eyes and stretched, toes bumping his legs and she giggled when he leaned down to kiss her, turning her head from him.  
  


“Morning breath.”  
  


“You’ve never complained about that before and I don’t have morning breath.”  
  


“I liked you too much to say anything.”  
  


“If that’s true, then I guess we should talk about your snoring problem.”  
  


She slapped him square in the chest, “I do not snore!” she declared, then her tone faltered with uncertainty, “do I?”  
  


Zuko shrugged, feigning a long-suffering sigh, “I liked you too much to say anything.”  
  


“Haha, very funny.” She rolled away from him, dragging the sheet with her to cover her nakedness.  
  


“Hey!” Zuko moved forward on the thin futon in a quick and lithe motion, snatching the sheet from Katara and gathering it to himself with a mischievous grin.  
  


“Zuko!” she scolded, cheeks burning and knees turning in as her arms crossed over herself. The firebender smiled appreciatively and stood, walking over to her and pulling her close.  
  


“Modesty doesn’t suit you,” he murmured, dipping his head to kiss her cheek then nip at her neck.  
  


Katara exhaled, low and wanting, pressing herself into the hard ridges of him where her soft places fit seamlessly. As though they belonged together. She nudged at him and he lifted his face so their lips met. Deep and needing of each other; desire was never sated for long between them. She caught his hand as it slipped between her thighs, just before his fingers could find her where she was moist and ready for him. Always ready for him.  
  


“You said we don’t have much time,” she murmured against his lips.  
  


“I’ve always been good at making time,” he growled. Katara gasped as his teeth sunk into the soft flesh of her lower lip, while his hand cupped her and pulled her even nearer. It was enough to make her thighs quiver like jelly.  
  


“Katara!”  
  


Zuko’s fingers stopped rubbing between her folds and her dilated eyes flashed with alarm. Both knew that chipper, childlike voice anywhere. Zuko was the first to move, snatching Katara’s dress and bindings from the ground and throwing them to her. He yanked his pants up his legs, threw on his tunic then jammed his hands through the vest to knot at the waist.  
  


“Katara?” Aang’s voice came closer and Zuko was just pulling on his left shoe when Katara shoved him out the tent, sending him stumbling into the startled airbender.  
  


“Zuko! Are you okay?”  
  


“Yeah, just uh…slipped over a rock.”  
  


“I can’t find Katara anywhere, have you seen her?” Aang asked, curiously eyeing the firebender who scratched through his tousled hair and rocked back on his left leg. Zuko seemed more disoriented than usual.  
  


“No, I haven’t. She’s probably getting breakfast ready. Why are you looking for her? Have you already done your morning exercises?”  
  


Aang’s gaze shifted and Zuko glowered at him, “Don’t even think about lying to me. Let’s go.” He grabbed Aang by the arm, hauling him away from his tent to the plains down the slope from their camping site where they did their training and battle exercises.  
  


Katara peeked out from Zuko’s tent and exhaled heavily when Aang’s protesting wail faded in the distance. She pulled her dress up over her shoulders and knotted the sash at her waist before tugging on her sheepskin boots. That was too close. The threat was gone, but her heart still thundered wildly in her chest.  
  


She pressed her hands to her chest and took another deep, calming breath to settle the racket in her rib-cage. She closed her eyes. What she had with Zuko was precious to her. Hope seemed even more real when she was within the safety of his arms. But, what they shared was fragile. At any moment it could be ruined. And neither had talked about what would happen between them after the war. Although, they didn’t have the luxury of thinking that far ahead.  
  


All they had was now; these furtive moments where they could express what they felt for each other and forget the burdens of living to fight another day. But Katara knew they were in danger of losing that the deeper they fell into each other. And she was afraid it would be sooner than either of them expected.  
  


***


	2. Chapter 2

Nostalgia was a rare feeling for Zuko. Only thoughts of his mother and Uncle stirred those wistful feelings for moments that seemed lost to him forever. And returning to Ember Island dredged up memories he wished would remain buried. Like the times he’d longed for his father to give him more than just an aloof glance. Or how he’d once thought he’d been born into a perfect family – minus Azula.  
  


He stared at the family portrait, hearing echoes of his younger self complain about standing in the same position for too long. Ursa had gently scolded him to be patient. Azula had crudely teased that Zuko was going to wet himself as he’d peed the bed that morning. Ozai’s lips had been a tight line; his large hand had rested on Zuko’s shoulders, restraining him from lunging at his sister. Zuko had flinched from the warning heat pressed into his skin. Had smiled through the pain. But the portrait never told that story.  
  


The only truth there was the regal beauty of the royal family. A handsome fire lord with his beautiful wife whom had given him exemplary children – a reflection of their parents poise and grace. The promising future of the Fire Nation. Except now, one of them was a traitor and the other a cold and cruel shadow of their father.  
  


What would Ursa think of how they turned out? All Zuko could imagine was her sad smile. He knew this wasn’t the kind of future she had imagined for them. He had failed her. They had all failed her.  
  


“Zuko?”  
  


The soft voice intruded on his reverie, but Zuko was thankful to see Katara watching him with a curious frown.  
  


“Is everything okay?” she walked towards him, then glanced up to the picture he’d been staring at. It was a painted portrait of Zuko’s family. Ozai looked intimidating despite the thin hint of a smile. Azula’s smile was endearingly mischievous and little Zuko looked so happy and innocent. Before the scar. His mother was a stunning woman, so much that Katara gasped. Zuko’s past description of her, when they’d snuggled in a secret place beneath the stars, hadn’t done her any justice.  
  


“Your mother is beautiful,” she breathed out, almost reverently.  
  


Zuko regarded Katara’s expression. The warm, deep blue of her eyes swam with admiration. Her full lips that she moistened curved with slight traces of a sad smile – perhaps hinting at thoughts of her own mother. The thick tresses of her hair spread over her shoulders like silk, the top half pulled up in a knot that fashioned a Fire Nation style.  
  


She was dressed in the color of his people. Red wrapped around her in flattering shades; her torso was covered from the chest to her waist, leaving her shoulders bare. An armlet of faux gold snaked around her left arm and the skirts swept about her ankles when she moved.  
  


“And you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known,” he murmured.  
  


Katara turned to him, “Hm?” His words had only grazed her thoughts.  
  


Zuko smiled and shook his head, “And you say I’m the distracted one.”  
  


“I’m sorry, but who’s the one always brooding and being miserable when he’s not training Aang, or being with me,” she added in a low taunt.  
  


“I’m not always brooding,” he said in lame protest.  
  


“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Zuko.” She shrugged, “Brooding princes are all the rage.”  
  


“Only for a particular water bender.” He shifted forward, lips spreading with a lecher’s smile.  
  


“Or a particular fire nation noble.”  
  


Katara regretted the tease as soon as it slipped her lips. Zuko’s eyes glinted with what seemed like surprise before shadows replaced his mirth. She tilted her head, swallowing the unease itching at her throat.  
  


“What’s wrong?” she asked, looping her arms around his middle.  
  


He shook his head, avoiding her probing stare, “Nothing. You came looking for me, right?”  
  


She nodded and dropped her hands from his waist, “We’re going in the town to buy some food. I wanted to know if you’d like to come with us.” But Katara already knew the answer without him saying a word.  
  


“I’ll stay behind. It’s much better that way. I’d give you guys away if I came out with you.”  
  


She shrugged a shoulder, “That’s not a problem, you could wear your hooded cloak.”  
  


“Yeah, great idea. While the nation’s on edge with wanted posters of us plastered everywhere, they’ll just let a guy walking around in a hooded cloak pass by. Maybe they'll even invite us for tea.”  
  


Katara narrowed her eyes at his snark. “No-one raised an alarm when we got here,” she said testily, “or is this just a stupid excuse because you don’t want to be seen with us.”  
  


Zuko fought the urge to roll his eyes, “Katara, you know as well as I do that that isn’t true.”  
  


“Yeah, no kidding.”  
  


“It’s not true! I already told my father whose side I’m on. Or did you forget I’m now a traitor to the Fire Nation.” His hand swept widely from his side. “I’m not ashamed to be seen walking with you, if that’s what you’re really trying to say.”  
  


“Then why the dumb excuses? If you don’t want to come then just say you don"t want to come.”  
  


“Then I don’t want to come alright!” he shouted and Katara flinched, eyes wide as she stared up at him.  
  


The silence between them pressed for several seconds until Zuko sighed, “Katara, I-”  
  


She boxed his hand away before it could brush her elbow, “Don’t touch me.” She stomped away from him and Zuko sighed, hearing the door slam down the corridor. He grabbed at his hair and groaned a frustrated profanity. He’d done it again. Snapping beneath the pressure of his wild anger. And for what? Just because Katara mentioned Mai?  
  


He didn’t know why he still felt so guarded about that area of his life. It especially made no sense when he and Mai had already ended their relationship. They’d broken up and it was clear she never agreed with his choices to join the enemy. But she had saved his life at the Boiling Rock and in that moment, when their gazes had locked…he’d felt as if there was still hope for them to fix things.  
  


Then he’d helped Katara find the man who’d killed her mother and when Katara broke down that night after sparing Yon Rha's life, Zuko had kissed her and told her he was proud of her. The feelings that had almost taken root in the crystal catacombs bloomed without warning and Zuko had made love to her. In that moment, during that entire journey, he'd forgotten all about Mai as he discovered someone new and so fundamentally different from him. He’d been wholly caught up in Katara. He still was.  
  


Katara had taught him things about himself and he’d learned so much about her that the others knew nothing of. Secrets she’d entrusted only to him when they lay together, limbs entangled. Yet he was still hiding bits of himself from her. Trying to defend something that no longer was.  
  


She was gracious enough not to ask questions, but Zuko knew her patience would soon wear itself thin. They never talked about the future but, with the hope Aang brought to toppling his father’s reign, Zuko knew the question of where they stood would pop up soon.  
  


He knew what he felt for Katara. She was everything to him. He wanted her by his side. But a very tiny part of him, which he wanted to burn away, still clung to the nostalgia of Mai.  
  


***


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Three. This chapter is rated M for sexual content.

The dreams kept coming. Unbidden and haunting flashes of betrayal and resentment. No matter which way the dream meandered, it always ended with Katara crying, telling him she hated him; that everything had been a mistake and choosing Aang. With Mai clinging to him, her arms as a serpent’s, and whispering in his ear that she was the only one for him. The Fire Nation would never accept a water tribe peasant as the Firelord’s bride.

  
“Ah! Zuko!” Katara’s nails dragged down the fire bender’s slick back bunching with muscles as he drove into her with deep, hard thrusts.  
  


He sucked breath between clenched teeth as the sting of torn flesh burned into him. His lips captured Katara’s in a heady kiss, robbing her of breath. He stopped kissing her bruised lips before she was ready and she hissed when his fingers bit into her waist, hips slamming into hers with faster urgency.  
  


“Zuko!” she gasped out, reaching for his shoulders and pushing at him, but he wasn’t listening. His brows were furrowed, features pinched into a focused grimace. His breathing was chopped and heavy, like he was struggling against something with every fiber of his being. But while pleasure still burst at the spot she liked, his rough desperation alarmed her.  
  


“Zuko…Zuko!” She grabbed his face and forced him to look at her. He stopped and blinked her into focus, panting as he shifted to brace his hands on either side of her head. A bead of sweat trickled between his brows.  
  


“What’s wrong?” she breathed out, searching the wild blaze in his eyes for an answer.  
  


He swallowed, “Nothing, is it not good? Did I do something wrong?”  
  


Katara smiled up at him and stroked his cheek. As if he could ever. He’d shown her what it was to have an attentive lover. He hadn’t been anything like Jet who’d only taken his pleasure and had been too spent to give Katara a passing thought to her own fulfillment.  
  


“No. But you seem distracted. Is…” she shifted beneath him and both shuddered at the sensations that affected, “is something on your mind?”  
  


“I…” he paused and licked his lips then shook his head, rolling his hips into hers. “No. Nothing’s on my mind. Only you.”  
  


Katara’s eyes fluttered shut, mouth going slack at Zuko’s new pace and angle. Slow and purposeful, all-the-way deep and filling. She groaned when he buried himself inside her and clutched at him to keep him there, hips undulating greedily against him.  
  


He was evading the issue. She knew it, but couldn’t call him out when all she wanted was release from the torturous pressure that kept building at her core. And Zuko was pushing her there with the overwhelming heat of his feverish body.  
  


She felt him pulsing inside her, gasped when he suddenly fucked her into the bedding. Just as she was about to cry out he kissed her, swallowing her orgasmic moans. They shuddered against each other. He held her tightly, face buried into the damp hollow of her neck as he pulled out of her and emptied himself into the sheets.  
  


Katara protested it — she always did despite knowing the danger of him coming inside her. Another sharp jolt rocked the firebender and Katara cradled him to her, pressing kisses to his shoulder and against his jawline before their lips melded, tongues shifting against each other in a sated dance.  
  


They sighed together. There was only but a moment for them to lounge in the afterglow of release. Aang and the others would soon return from the town with their shopping for food that evening and whatever promising, new gossip they hoped to gather on Ozai’s plans following Sozin’s comet.  
  


Katara’s reluctance to go along with them had been met with whining objection from Aang. Sokka had only been worried his sister and Zuko would tear each other’s heads off, because the two had been arguing more recently. Toph’s remarks had been so cunningly shady that after they’d all left, Katara and Zuko had joked uneasily that Toph knew about them. Then after the laughter subsided, Zuko’s gaze turned molten and Katara was undone by his touch and the husky decadence of his voice.  
  


It didn’t matter that they never resolved the reason for their arguments lately. Zuko made it up to her by dispelling every doubt about his feelings for her with the deft magic of his hands, lips and tongue. He was only three years older than her, yet had the experience of a seasoned lover.  
  


Aang had tried touching her intimately before, but it had been a clumsy grab and squeeze of her breast that had repulsed rather than aroused her. Since then, long before she and Zuko even began sleeping together, she’d done her best to avoid them being alone for too long.  
  


Aang was still only a kid, which should’ve made it easier for Katara to explain why she couldn’t return his feelings. But each time she thought to address it, she couldn’t imagine hurting Aang. He was precious to her and she needed him at his best to face Ozai when the time came.   
  


“You okay?” Zuko murmured next to her and Katara’s eyes jumped to his. Her smile effectively pushed Aang from her mind and she twisted on her side, into him, and kissed him on the mouth.  
  


“More than okay,” she said smugly, “I love it when you’re so…”  
  


“Rough?” Zuko asked, his scarred eye widened slightly, as if he were raising a brow at her.  
  


“Passionate,” she supplied coyly and kissed him again. Zuko smiled into the kiss, fingers tracing the graceful curve of her spine.  
  


“I was afraid I’d hurt you,” he admitted quietly.  
  


“No, of course you didn’t. You could never hurt me,” Katara reassured gently, her hand reached up to shift the hair from his scarred eye. Her fingers traced the rough skin and Zuko closed his eyes to hide the shame there. Because yes, he could hurt her. He had a wretched propensity for ruining everything that was precious to him. Like his relationship with his Uncle. Zuko still had no idea where Iroh was and each day the guilt burned inside him like acid threatening to destroy him from within.  
  


All the hurtful things he’d said. Like a child stubbornly lashing out. He’d made his Uncle cry; the man who’d been more of the father he’d needed than his own. The one who’d stuck by him and cared for him as he’d wrestled to conquer the evil that had almost consumed him. The only one who’d never turned his back on him.  
  


“We should get dressed, they’ll be back any second now,” Katara murmured.  
  


Zuko only moved closer, sheets rustling around them as he buried his face into Katara’s chest.  
  


“Zuko,” she began chiding gently, but paused when she felt telling droplets on her breast. Her soft smile fell and without another word, she hugged his trembling form and lovingly stroked his head. Her singing started as a wobbling hum, uncertain she’d make him feel better or worse. It was a song she remembered her mother had often sung to her when she’d been upset, cradled in her mother’s lap.  
  


But Zuko didn’t seem to mind at all and when his crying subsided, his voice was so small – as if he was once again only a child.  
  


“Thank you, Katara.”

***


	4. Chapter Four

The only information Sokka had to offer when he and the others returned was a flyer advertising the new play based on the Avatar’s conquest to defeat the Firelord.  
  


Zuko dragged a hand over his face when he saw it was being performed by the Ember Island actors. He was the only one unamused with the prospect of seeing the play. The others were curious to see how their characters would be interpreted and Sokka was especially eager to see himself on stage.  
  


The brooding prince only went because he didn’t want to be stuck in a house with memories tucked at every corner without distractions to keep him from reliving each of them. He grabbed his cloak and tugged the hood low over his face as he walked with them to the bustling theater.  
  


“Looks like it’ll be good if so many people are here to see it,” Aang piped up.  
  


“Besides the shopping district, it’s the only other source of entertainment here. Not popular because it’s good in any way,” Zuko commented drily.  
  


“Careful Sparky, you’re not convincing when you hardly know what it is to smile and enjoy things.”  
  


“I do know how to enjoy things!” Zuko snapped.  
  


“Uh-huh, that biting enthusiasm sure showed me.”  
  


Zuko rolled his eyes at the tiny earthbender’s sarcasm. It was embarrassing the way she just dangled bait in his face and he grabbed at it.  
  


“Cheer up, Zuko. They probably got better over the years,” Aang chirped, bouncing with a carefree energy that got on Zuko’s nerves.  
  


“Yeah, I bet,” he ground out miserably. He paid for their tickets, keeping his gaze down despite the probing gaze of the ticket seller at the window. Zuko snatched the six tickets from the man and grumbled irritably as he walked away with the others following behind.

“Box…seats?” Katara asked, looking at Zuko for some explanation as to what that meant.  
  


“You got us seats in the nosebleed section?” Toph complained and Katara divided a glance between the nobility of their group as they were directed to their seats on the upper floor where they had a bird’s eye view of the stage. _Ahh, so these were box seats…  
  
_

“My feet can’t see a thing up here!”  
  


“You’ve got ears for a reason.”  
  


Katara slapped the firebender upside the head, “Don’t worry Toph. We’ll tell your feet what’s going on.”  
  


They all sat, except for Aang who fidgeted and stared at Zuko who was next to Katara. Zuko stared up at him, “What’s the matter?”  
  


“Well,” Aang started nervously, “I wanted to sit here.”  
  


Zuko made a face as if Aang’s plight was a nonissue, “Just sit next to me.”  
  


Pouting, Aang muttered a reluctant agreement and sat beside the firebender. Soon, the lights dimmed, the curtains rolled back and the play began with a grossly inaccurate Katara and Sokka. Zuko bit back a smile at the melodramatic portrayal of the waterbender harping on about hope and sobbing in exaggerated wails.  
  


Katara elbowed him sharply in the side and Zuko yelped, rubbing at the sore spot. The play was as painfully lousy and clumsy as Zuko expected. But when the plot twist of a love affair between Zuko and Katara played out onstage, the two exchanged nervous glances and stiffly shuffled further away from each other.  
  


“Ha! Now this is hilarious. As if you two could ever. The ice caps would melt before that ever happened,” Sokka joked. Katara winced and laughed a little too affectedly. Beside her, Toph snickered.   
  


Just then, Zuko’s actor yelled out a crass scoff, “You’re the Avatar’s girl!”  
  


From the corner of his eye, Zuko saw Aang glaring at the stage and nodding rigidly at the actor’s assertion. He licked his lips and swallowed, slinking back in his seat. It was as if their secret had been flung in their face to mock them. But no-one would know the truth if they didn’t act guilty. If anything, both were convincing about how uncomfortable the development between the actors made them.  
  


Then, the Zuko and Katara onstage embraced and Aang shot from his seat and strode from the room. Sokka called out for the airbender to bring back some snacks, but Zuko knew the avatar had no plans to return with any of the things Sokka asked for.  
  


~~~

“Is everything okay?” Katara slowly approached Aang, hands hugged to her midriff. He stood by the balcony overlooking the ocean, looking every bit miserable at the world and whatever else was troubling him.  
  


“No,” he answered as if it was the most obvious response. “I hate this stupid hat and I hate that dumb play!” He yanked the pointed hat from his bald head and flung it to the floor.  
  


“Aang, calm down. You don’t have to be angry.”  
  


“But what you said in there was true, wasn’t it?”  
  


“What’re you talking about?” she asked, brows drawing together as her lips tilted downward.  
  


“That I’m like a brother to you and that you don’t have feelings for me?”  
  


Katara’s chest iced over with dread, “I never said that. An actor on stage said that.”  
  


“But it’s true isn’t it?” the airbender insisted. “We kissed at the invasion and I thought we were gonna be together. But it’s like you’ve been avoiding me since then.”  
  


She sighed, “Aang, I’m not avoiding you. It’s just...we’re in the middle of a war and I just feel confused about a lot of things.” She reached for her hair and tugged at the thick strands. A habit when she felt put on the spot.  
  


“What about Zuko?”  
  


She blinked at him in surprise, “What about Zuko?” she echoed, hoping she looked as clueless as Aang would’ve wanted.  
  


“How do you feel about him?”  
  


“Aang, what are you trying to ask me?”  
  


“Do you like him? I mean…I know you don’t hate him anymore and I’m glad you could forgive him. But I don’t want you to…”  
  


Katara’s eyes narrowed, “Don’t want me to what?”  
  


Aang knew that dangerously low dip of her voice and what those hardened glaciers indicated. Behind them, the ocean waves thrashed restlessly, “Katara…”  
  


“No…are you trying to control how I should feel about other people?”  
  


Aang appeared crestfallen, “Katara no! I would never want to control—”  
  


“Then what do you mean you don’t want me to…you don’t want me to like other people? Even if I did, what business of yours would that be? You don’t get to tell me who I can and cannot like, Aang!” She spun around ready to stalk off before glaring over her shoulder at him, “And for your information, I’d never dream of being with Zuko. I don’t need that drama in my life. There, does that make you happy?”  
  


Without waiting for his response, she stomped back towards the doors and faltered when she saw Zuko at the steps. Her lips trembled around mute shock. Angry tears burned in her eyes. But instead of saying a word, she rushed past Zuko and flung the door open, escaping from both boys.  
  


Aang and Zuko stared at each other for a while. The firebender’s expression was inscrutable and he nodded towards the doors, “We should get back in. The play’s gonna be over soon.”  
  


Aang nodded, not knowing why he felt so ashamed at what Zuko had to hear when the prince didn’t even seem the slightest bit phased by Katara’s cold admission.

***


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all are doing well, staying healthy and safe during this time. This chapter is lengthy and rated M for sexual content. Enjoy.

They hadn’t spoken since the night of the play. For Katara, it was easier to avoid Zuko’s gaze and the needling of guilt brought with it. There wasn’t much that could be done in the moments they all ate together. However, Aang had become quite helpful with serving. He’d also taken to leaving wild plum lilies for Katara as an apology for that night he’d kissed her. While they’d helped to quell her anger and became cute accessories for her hair.   
  


Zuko took notice one day when their paths intercepted: him on his way to the bathing house and she, on her way from.  
  


He saw the flowers in her damp, curly hair and, without a word, walked away from her. Her heart racketed violently against her ribcage; it was almost difficult remembering how to get air into her lungs. It was also like a slap in the face, though she’d been the one to avoid him. She didn’t dare chance a look behind her. With a huff and tilt of her chin, she stalked back into the main house and found the room she was sharing with Toph.

“I’m not apologizing,” she fumed to herself, tossing the bath towel to the side and shrieking when it landed over Toph. The younger girl was dozing, feet perched on the table and hands folded across her chest.

“Toph! I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there.”  
  


“Yeah, don’t worry. I’ve known for awhile I’m not the only blind person in this group,” the girl grumbled, pulling the towel from her face and tossing it to the floor.

Katara pouted and reached for her fire nation garb, “I thought you were out training with Aang. Isn’t it your day with him?”

She stuck a pinky in her nose, scraping about and collecting thin layers of gunk beneath the chewed nail. “I gave him some new forms to practice. I’ll be back out to check on him in a bit. The heat was getting to me.” She rolled around the small ball of dried boogers then flicked it away. Katara shuddered.

“Yeah, it is hotter than usual today,” the water bender mused, looking out the window as she adjusted her top.

“Can you imagine what it’ll feel like a few weeks from now? I’d be more excited for our fight against Fire lord Ozai if it weren’t gonna be so hot. But anyway, what’s going on between you and Zuko?”  
  


Katara straightened from pulling her skirt up to her waist, squinting over at the earth bender with mute surprise. “Between me and Zuko? What are you talking about?”

Toph folded her hands, eyes going smug with her knowing smile, “Don’t start that act with me, sugar queen. I think I’ve given more hints than necessary that I know what’s going on. The last thing left for me to do is say it out loud. But I won’t, to save Sokka the heart attack – Aang, his reason to live.”

  
  
Despite herself and the current state of things with the fire bender, Katara blushed. “I guess I should thank you, for not ratting us out. But really…there’s nothing going on between us. Not anymore, anyway.”

“What went wrong? I know it can’t be his bedroom skills.”

“Toph!” Katara admonished, face growing hot with the abashed rise of her voice. “Stop being a pervert.”

“Me? You hardly know how to keep quiet. You’re lucky everyone else sleeps like the dead.”

Katara sighed and rubbed at her arm, “I got angry and said some things I shouldn’t have, is all. He took it the wrong way. I wish I hadn’t said it, but he should’ve known I wasn’t being serious. He’s an idiot. So maybe it’s for the best.”

Toph considered what she heard and closed her eyes, tilting her head to the side. “I’m gonna bet the ten gold pieces in my bag you don’t mean that. I’m not even depending on vibrations right now. You could just apolo-”

“I’m not apologizing! He knows I didn’t mean it. He knows,” she repeated, grounding out the words with conviction. “It’s not as if either of us think we can truly be together, anyway. Even after the war ends. Too much damage has been done. Zuko won’t be able to handle that much.”

“How do you know what Sparky can or can’t handle? He’s resilient, I can tell you that much.”

“Romance and politics are two different things, Toph. And they don’t go together. The last thing I’d want to do is be a hindrance to his ability to lead when he takes the throne. He’s better off marrying a fire nation noble…”

“You really feel that way?”

“That doesn’t matter. I can’t be caught up thinking of what Zuko will choose. His best decision yet has been to join us in this fight. We were just…distracting ourselves from the burdens of preparing for this war. It wasn’t…” She thought of his hand then, the tender brush of his knuckles across her cheek. When his thumb would coast her lips before he leaned in and kissed her. Their hands interlocked, squeezed together as he’d drive deep into her. She gasped and shook herself from the unbidden recall. “Perhaps it shouldn’t have happened in the first place. We both know it won’t last.”

Toph stretched her hands above her heads and yawned, “I know you didn’t ask me for advice – and what do I know, I’ve never had a boyfriend”-

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Katara fired back.

Toph continued as if there’d been no interruption, “But I still think you two should talk it out. Even if you don’t want to apologize. You and Zuko have what Aang’s desperate to start with you. I’m also pretty sure Zuko would do anything for you if you asked. You two have been avoiding each other and the tension’s stifling me. Get it together or I’m really gonna sing like a screaming sparrow if you two keep this up. You wanna talk to him and I know he wants to talk to you too.”

“I-”

Before Katara could finish her defiant retort, Toph was yelling out that Aang had better mastered those forms or he’d be getting stuffed with boulders where the sun didn’t shine. Her crude humor made the water bender sputter on occasion. Now, Katara only smiled begrudgingly before she was back to looking out the window as the sun began dipping beyond the honeyed arm of the horizon.

She wasn’t going to apologize. She’d probably said what Zuko had locked away in his thoughts. He was stupid if he didn’t think she knew he was still hung up on Mai. And she wasn’t going to compete for a place in anyone’s heart.

She plucked the flower from her hair, twirling the softened stem between her thumb and index finger. Besides, she had someone who would always choose her first. Maybe it was time she did the right thing, and finally choose him too.

***

Katara refused to speak with him. Let alone look him in the eyes whenever she walked by him. Zuko knew he’d probably made things worse by also playing her game and giving back the silent treatment. But what was he supposed to do when she walled herself from him? She was also showing off the flowers Aang left for her almost every day, and the brat would make some giddy, childish sound whenever Katara happened to pass by while they trained. It took every ounce, every crumb of control not to blast Aang to kingdom come whenever it happened.

His jealousy wasn’t flattering, as Mai had let him know in the past, and he was trying his damndest not to be explosive. He couldn’t afford to be anyway, since what they had was a secret . The most important thing right now was to help the Avatar train to face his father. But it was hard to focus on that when his mind was a constant echo of the words Katara had yelled at Aang. Zuko’s instinct told him it was simply an angry retaliation to get the air nomad off her back. But the insecure, overanalyzing part of himself found a harsh and indisputable honesty there.

Katara was no good at lying. Had those words come from an Azula, it would’ve been easier for Zuko to believe the complete opposite of that declaration. But Katara was earnest and, more often than not, meant the things she said. She didn’t waste her words. So, Zuko wasn’t sure how to balance the magnitude of her words. Had it just been to dispel Aang’s doubts, or did she really not see anything sustainable between them? Did he?  
  


“Zuko, think fast!”

The fire bender’s head snapped up in time to see a fireball hurtling towards him and jumped up, twisting his body as he kicked out his leg in a graceful move to deflect it with a fire blast of his own.

“What the heck was that?”

Aang rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, “I wanted to get your attention. I was demonstrating the form you showed me earlier with the tigerdillo roar. You didn’t even hear that so I thought-”

“You’d try to kill me for it? What the hell, Aang?”

“No, of course I’d never try to harm you. You’re my fire bending master, Sifu Hotman.”

“Stop calling me that!”

The laughter from the side got both their attention. Katara was standing there, two bowls of steaming rice in hand. One with hippo-possum meat, the other topped with steamed vegetables. She raised them slightly, “I think it’s time you two took a break. I saw your form, Aang. I thought it was amazing. Too bad Sifu Hotman can’t see what a great student you are.”

“Did you also see that he tried to kill me?” Zuko asked, amazed at how easily the words came out despite his chest forming icicles all the way up to his mouth.

Katara didn’t look at him, “Oh, I’m sure it wouldn’t have even left a mark. You avoided it easily enough. You’re good at that.”

His eyes narrowed. She handed the bowls to Aang then straightened her back, “I made lemon berry juice. It’s inside, you two can help yourself.”

“Thanks, Katara!” Aang called out, handing the hippo-possum rice bowl to Zuko then making for the pavilion so he could eat.  
  


Zuko muttered an incoherent thanks for the warm bowl of food in his hand, gaze following Katara. He wanted to go after her, but that would alarm Aang. He wasn’t sure if the group noticed he and Katara hardly exchanged words recently, but he wouldn’t chance it. And by the sound of that terse and offhanded dig of hers, they would end up arguing. Because that remark angered him.

Yeah, he was great at giving as good as he got. How was it even fair for her to be upset at him when she never even tried to correct the misunderstanding between them? He didn’t get it, but he sure as hell would get his answers tonight.

***

She was braiding her hair for bed when three knocks came at her door. Toph didn’t knock. Aang always announced himself. No one but Zuko actually knocked. Her stomach heaved with an anxious shudder and she swallowed thickly. With a few breaths to compose herself – steady the wild beating in her chest – Katara went to the door but made no move to let him in.

“What?”  
  


“We need to talk.” His voice was barely above a murmur. “Open the door.”

“There’s nothing for us to discuss, Zuko. And it’s late. I’m tired.” There was no answer. She gripped the metal groove, listening to the shuffle of feet move away along with a defeated sigh.

Really? He wasn’t even going to try harder than that?

She slid back the door and peeked out. Only to be met by his molten gaze. Her heart shot to her throat.

“You’re such a liar,” he growled.

She opened her mouth to do exactly that, but his lips swallowed her denial. He bodily shifted her back into the room and reached out a hand to shove the door closed. Katara only fought against him for a futile second, sputtering that Toph would be back soon, before she melted into his embrace. She clutched at him as if he were her very source of air. Her fists grabbed at his clothes, then she dug her fingers into his hair, tugging him against her.

His hands wrapped around her waist, then slid back to smooth up her sides and down to her backside, squeezing the supple flesh and lifting her onto her toes against the dizzying heat of him. It was hard to keep quiet, to swallow down the sobs of want and incoherent whines of how much she’d missed him. Missed this. But she wouldn’t say it aloud. There was still a fierce anger behind her movements.  
  


She bit into his neck, scratched his back and chest when she yanked his top off. Shoved him away from her as she undressed. He was out of his trousers and underwear, in time enough to face her as she walked towards him and pushed him until his legs hit the bed and he collapsed on it.  
  


“Katara-”

Her hand came to his throat then and squeezed, cutting off whatever else he was going to say. Not tight enough to cut off his windpipe, but she held his gaze with iced intensity as she lined him up with her body then sank onto his erection. Their expressions mirrored the shared moment of ecstasy. A longed-for reunion between their bodies. The past few days had been hell without the other’s touch.

She didn’t release his throat as she found her rhythm, leaning in every now and again, teasing him with kisses that never came. Only brushes of their lips, sometimes she’d lick at his mouth. Then she’d squeeze his neck when he tried to take what she wasn’t ready to give him.

His hands gripped her waist, but Zuko didn’t try to take control of what was already in Katara’s command. She contracted around him with butterfly pulses that drove him mad. He groaned something profane, almost closed his eyes, but couldn’t look away from those bewitching sapphires. She took him in slow and deep. Again, and again. She taunted him with those ghost-like kisses, and her free hand curved up his nape to tangle in his hair.

Zuko’s hands moved down the graceful curve of her spine then around to cup her breasts, pinching at the pert nipples. She gasped at the delicious spike in pleasure that caused and finally gave in to kissing him. Gave in to everything he wanted to do. He called her name as she echoed his, holding her tight against him as he planted his feet on the bed, bucking up into her – sharp and fast.  
  


She was already there, grabbing his arm and squeezing her eyes shut as all the sensations coalesced, ready to explode throughout her extremities. And when he tossed her beneath him, fingers digging into her waist as his thrusts became erratic, she locked her legs around him and gasped, arms thrown around his neck to bring him closer.  
  


This time, when he came, Zuko didn’t have the space of mind to pull out. Katara didn’t even seem to care. She didn’t let him go, even when both their spasmic shudders subsided. She kept him near, kissing at his shoulder, trailing to his neck and then up to his chin.

He looked down at her and the tease on her lips was never given voice. They’d both released the sexual tension, but Zuko wasn’t much interested in the afterglow as he normally would’ve been. When her grip loosened, he lifted away from her and was off the bed, retrieving his clothes. Katara quietly did the same.

After a lengthy silence, only filled by the rustle of clothes, Zuko finally spoke. “What you said to Aang that night…did you mean it?” He didn’t turn to face her.

“I was angry, Zuko. I just wanted him to leave me alone.” She tossed her hair out of her dress and folded her arms across her midriff.

“That doesn’t answer my question.” He looked at her now.

“And what if it was? It’s not as if this means anything to you Zuko. When the war’s over, we’ll go our separate ways. You’ll be the Fire lord and I’ll go back to my people to rebuild our nation. This was never going to be anything outside of two people just trying to find something good to share in all this mess.”

Zuko looked down at her, right eye widening, “Is that all you really think this is, Katara? You think this is just some soothing affair to keep ourselves distracted from the war?”

“So what is it then?” she asked, lifting her hands with her shrug, “tell me.” She advanced on him then, “Are you in love with me? Do you want to marry me?”

Something glistened in his eyes that made Katara’s heart do something much weirder than it ever had before.

Zuko shook his head and scoffed, “I guess you’re not as mature as I thought. My mistake.” He started for the door.

“Excuse me? I am nothing but mature. I’ve had to take care of everyone on my own since my mom died. So, don’t talk to me about maturity when I’ve never even had time to be a child, jerk.”

“And you think I did? I lost my mother too, Katara! My father banished me when I was thirteen.”

“I’m very aware, Zuko. Are there any more tales you want to regale me with to prove how much more mature you are than me? Because knowing how to have sex doesn’t make you more of a man.”

“It was never only about sex for me with you! That’s my point! You think I’d just have sex with someone I don’t care about? You think all I wanted out of this was a bedmate until the war is over?”

She blinked up at him, mollified momentarily, “What does that mean then, Zuko? Are you in love with me?”

Admitting to his feelings had never been that difficult for him. He’d known the moment Mai became more than just one of Azula’s annoying friends to him. But what he’d felt then had never scared him. With Mai, their affection had been easy, it had come with a sense of security. That didn’t exist with Katara.

Their elements alone divided them yet was strong enough to bring out the best between them. He’d be willing choose her, but as had been shown that night with Aang, she didn’t seem ready to do the same.  
  


But Zuko didn’t want to hide his true feelings. Maybe Katara was denser than he thought or acted this way to protect herself if he were to go ahead and ended things between them.

“Yes, Katara,” he rasped out, “I am. But are you?”

She looked up at him, speechless. Of all the possible outcomes that had played out in her head, she really hadn’t counted on Zuko opening his heart to her like this. Nor having to be the one who’d possibly break it.

O.o.O.o


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this story will end in 8 to 10 chapters. I'm still working out the plot around Zutara (I'm conflicted about how to end it because I really do want these two to end up together. But it's important to keep the flow and character struggles in mind). Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Zuko didn’t like uncertainty. The way it iced down his throat and chilled the residual heat of Katara’s body against his own. Nearly leaving him numb and unnerved. His entire foundation had been built on absolutes, a confident reassurance that had – more or less – paved a successful path as the Fire Nation heir. Until his outburst. Until the arena. But even after the collapse of all he’d known to be true, he’d never been lurched in the bowels of doubt. He’d fought against the dual forces wrestling inside him, did things he was never truly proud of. But in the back of his head, he’d always known he’d made the right choice, because it all led to who he was now. But perhaps, Katara hadn’t been the best one…  
  


“Zuko, I-” she began, arms coming up to hug her midriff as she cast her gaze to the floor.  
  


He swallowed against the sharp barbs collecting in his throat, “Don’t…don’t bother to answer that question,” he lifted a hand, effectually stopping her response. Their eyes met once more. Placid amber stones bore into crevasses of blue. There was so much to be deciphered there, but he’d had enough of wading into their depths with nothing to hold onto. In the end, Katara would do what was best for the group. And by the group, that meant Aang.  
  


“I’m not going to pressure you into returning my feelings. I don’t need you to. You were right when you said we’re in the middle of a war. And this-” he swept a hand between them “-was never meant to have a name. But I don’t sleep with girls for the heck of it Katara, in spite of what you may think of me, I never have-”  
  


Katara flinched, “I never said that you-”  
  


“-and I’m not going to start now,” he furthered the distance between them with a step back, “it’s time we stopped doing this. You might believe I’m made of the same callousness as my father, but I’m not.”  
  


Katara stared at him, fists clenching into the sides of her loose dress, “You are just like him,” she ground out, “because you do as you please. Just because something no longer serves you-”  
  


Something dangerous flashed in the fire bender’s eyes, “Don’t twist my words, Katara. That’s not what I said.”  
  


“But it’s what you’re doing, ending things because you’re not getting your way. We both agreed we wouldn’t get carried away.”  
  


“We never agreed to anything! Did I ever tell you it was just about sex? Or did you come to that stupid conclusion all on your own?”  
  


Katara balked but didn’t back down, stepping towards him, “What was I supposed to think when you kept getting touchy about Mai? I’m not stupid, Zuko. You’re still in love with her and you still want to be with her.”  
  


Fire and smoke plumed from both his mouth and nostrils when he groaned and turned away from her for a second, fingers plunged into his hair, “Did you listen to a word I said just now?”  
  


“They mean nothing, Zuko! Don’t act as if I’m without reason to doubt whatever you say.”  
  


“Oh wow, Katara. So, what then, you don’t trust my word? You don’t trust me?”  
  


“No. I do not.”  
  


Her answer was so simple, so honest that Zuko’s anger went out like water over a flame. Sizzled out to dull wisps of smoke.  
  


“Hey, what’s going on?”  
  


Katara turned to see both Toph and Suki at the door. Suki glanced between them, Toph’s expression was undiscernible, but Katara knew the earth bender was focused on measuring vibrations with her feet.  
  


She’d never seen a mask descend so quickly on anyone’s face as it did on Zuko now. All the anger and frustration recoiled behind cold eyes, tension bled from his shoulders and he looked over at Suki. “Nothing’s going on, I’m sorry if we woke you.”  
  


Suki looked over at Katara for confirmation and the water bender only nodded, her eyes snapped back to the scarred prince as he walked toward the door. She and Toph sidled out the way.  
  


“Excuse me,” he said, voice quiet, as he left the room.  
  


Suki stuck her head into the hallway to make sure he was gone, then slid the door shut as she turned her attention back to Katara.  
  


“Seriously, what the heck was all that about? And don’t you dare say nothing, Katara. You’re lucky Sokka and Aang sleep like the dead or you’d have a lot more explaining to do.”  
  


“Want me to tell her for you?” Toph piped up, raising her hand for extra measure.  
  


Katara managed a wan smile as she crossed the room to the bed and sank on it. She caught the moment Suki got a weird look on her face as she inhaled then watched her mouth drop open and her palms slap against her cheeks.  
  


“You’re sleeping with Zuko?”  
  


Katara laughed in spite of herself and braced her hands on the bed’s edge, shoulders coming up to her ears, “Well…we won’t be doing that anymore.”  
  


Suki came towards her. She had so many questions ready to dive from her tongue. When did they even begin seeing each other? Did Aang know? (Wait, of course he didn’t, he was still the same chirpy kid as usual). What would Sokka think? How had she never given more thought to the inkling that would pop up every now and again when the two would sometimes mysteriously disappear form the group?  
  


“You broke up?”  
  


The water bender scoffed, laughter choked with bitter notes, “We weren’t together anyway. It just…” her shoulders dropped with a heavy shrug, “it just happened, I guess.”  
  


Suki didn’t need Toph’s abilities to detect the untruth in that statement, but she didn’t try to tease Katara for it. Not when the water bender seemed so crestfallen.  
  


“What happened?”  
  


Katara shook her head, gazing at a distant point on the floor, “He asked me if I loved him,” she scoffed again and laughed. “He and Aang are the same thing, asking me all these questions, but I don’t know! I don’t know what to feel! I can’t…I don’t know what the hell they want from me!”  
  


Without a word, at the first sight of how wet Katara’s eyes became – how her voice shook with such angry melancholy – Suki drew the girl into her arms and rocked her gently.  
  


“I hate him. I hate him so much. I wish I’d never said yes to him that night.”  
  


Suki stroked the back of her hair. Toph came to sit by them; Suki guessed that was her way of offering comfort.  
  


“It’s okay, everything will be okay,” Suki murmured into the brown tresses beneath her chin.  
  


***  
  


“More ferocious!” Zuko bellowed, arms crossed over his tunic as he watched the air bender go through his fire bending form of fire kicks and punches transitioning into a fireball attack. “Imagine striking through your opponent’s heart!”  
  
  


Aang almost stumbled through the form at the cruelty of Zuko’s words, trying to contain the growing flames between his circling arms as he twisted forward, then released the attack. Without a second to catch his breath and cool the blaze in his veins, Zuko was yelling at him again.  
  


“Now let me hear you roar like a tigerdillo!”  
  


Aang spun on his heel, thrust his arms perpendicular to himself as he lifted his head to sync his breath with a fiery roar. The flames were thin, his voice tremulous. He looked to Zuko, already knowing that wasn’t his best.  
  


Zuko glowered at him, “That sounded pathetic. I said roar!”  
  


Aang did the rotation again, taking the breath from his diaphragm and giving a more satisfactory roar in tandem with the fire jetting from his hands and mouth. The fire bender nodded his approval, mouth open to give the air bender new instructions.  
  


Katara’s voice came from the porch of the beach house, “Who wants a nice, cool glass of watermelon juice?”  
  


Aang looked over, Zuko kept his eyes fixed on the air bender, “Ooh, me! Me!”  
  


So easily distracted, the fire bender shook his head and shot his arm out, grabbing the air bender by the back of his collar as he ran towards Katara. “Where do you think you’re going? Get back here!”  
  


Everyone was lounging beneath the shade, watching the two train. The sky was a serene blue with pillowy white tufts cruising beneath. The breeze was an indulgent, somnolent murmur, and the sea playfully lapped at the white sands. It was a day begging them all to just unwind, but the uptight fire bender didn’t seem too keen on allowing himself to be persuaded. So, Suki attempted a more direct tactic.  
  


“Come on, Zuko. Just take a break, what’s the big deal?”   
  


Suki didn’t think it was possible for the grumpy prince to scowl even deeper than what she’d grown used to. He scoffed at them, lifting his chin with an indignant flair that truly reminded her Zuko was royalty.  
  


“Fine!” Aang made a run for Katara when Zuko released him. “If you want to lounge around like a bunch of snail sloths all day, then go ahead!”  
  


Not one of them seemed affronted by his rebuke. Instead, they went right ahead with enjoying the day as if there wasn’t a war about to come to a head in only a few more days. He sulked beneath the shade of a palm tree, leaned against the rough bark. Naturally, his eyes found the water bender. Cool skin glistening, golden kisses from the sun raining her dark skin. And he felt a tug at his gut, watching her laugh and surf the waves with her ice board. Her blissful expression betrayed no memory of what had transpired nights ago.  
  


Katara had accepted it. Hadn’t tried to visit Zuko’s room nor change his mind. The most baffling thing was that she kept treating him well. Malice didn’t shadow her actions nor raze her voice. If Zuko didn’t know any better, he’d think all of it had happened in his head – from their relationship to its dissolution. He measured her charade, didn’t let his gaze on her linger too long in the moments they’d exchange words. But he couldn’t deny he was upset. His anger over what she’d said to him had never quite left his mind. And seeing her now, carefree and giggling, splashing Suki and Sokka in the water, made his blood boil.  
  


He was angry because Katara thought his feelings were a sham. He was angry because, no matter how hard he tried, fate still found a way to screw him over. He was mad as hell that he would always be second best to someone else. He never won his father’s love and approval because Azula had embodied all he’d ever wanted to be for his father. And the Avatar, just a bald-headed kid with too much talent yet so careless it made Zuko grind his teeth, was the reason he and Katara couldn’t move forward.  
  


The fire blast came out of nowhere, sending Aang diving for cover. He and Toph had been sand sculpting, then the earth bender had made a mini sculpture of Ba Sing Se that took the air bender’s breath away. Now Zuko was attacking him like a mad man!  
  


Aang peered out from behind his Appa sculpture at Zuko, “What are you doing?”  
  


Zuko took his stance, glaring at the boy, “Teaching you a lesson.” Sand Appa imploded from a fire blast. Aang scrambled away, nimbly dodging the rapid fireballs aimed at him. Trees caught fire; the roof tiles bore scorch marks as the fire bender punched and kicked violent flames. Aang stayed on the defensive, though by the direct attacks Zuko threw at him, he should’ve been on the offensive. There were distant shouts of alarm, but the fire bender didn’t stop his assault against the air bender. Each attack was more vicious than the last, intended to harm. Intended to release all the rage deep within his marrow.  
  


Zuko cornered him within the house. Aang had had enough. The air bender shot the prince from the second floor with a strong, harsh gust, effectively outing the whirl of flames Zuko had sent at him down the corridor. His back slammed into branches and palm fronds, punching the air from his lungs and he fell to his knees, gasping for air.  
  


Aang looked out from the cavity in the wall then jumped down to Zuko when the others came running. Katara glared down at the fire bender.  
  


“What’s wrong with you? You could have hurt Aang!”  
  


Of course, that’s all she cared about. The fire bender pushed himself to stand, glowering at them all, “What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with all of you? How can you sit around having beach parties when Sozin’s Comet is only three days away?” His ire fluctuated at the apparent reluctance on their faces, as if they were hiding something. “Why are you all looking at me like I’m crazy?”  
  


Aang stepped forward, “About Sozin’s Comet, I was actually gonna wait to fight the Fire Lord until after the comet.”  
  


Zuko’s right eye went wide, “After?”  
  


Aang’s shoulders slumped, “Zuko, I think you see it too. I need more time to master fire bending.”  
  


“And frankly, your earth bending could use some work too.”  
  


The others parroted their agreement in dull tones, but all the fire bender could hear were excuses and worrying undertones of defeat. “Aang…if you wait until the comet comes, there won’t be a world to save anymore. My father is going to use the comet to finish the war and establish his rule over the nations. He’s going to burn everything to the ground. He called it a true rebirth of the world.” There was no hiding the shame and disgust in the fire bender’s voice. “He’ll be at his most powerful, do you think he would wait until after to deliver his finishing blow? You guys already failed during Black Sun-”  
  


“Just stab at a healing wound, why don’t cha?” Sokka spat.  
  


Zuko ignored him. Aang fell to his knees, “Why didn’t you tell me about your dad’s crazy plan sooner?”  
  


“I don’t know why you keep underestimating what my father is capable of. No-one told me you were going to wait,” he fired back.  
  


Aang buried his face in his hands. The resolve and hope crumbling all around the air bender was palpable as he mumbled to himself. Katara stepped forward, put a hand on Aang’s shoulder and squeezed. The gesture was innocuous, but Suki tracked the second the fire bender’s jaw tensed at the simple touch.  
  


“You don’t have to do this alone Aang. You have us. We’ll fight the Fire Lord together.” And that was enough to dispel the crowding doubt that fell over the group. They all hugged. Zuko kept his distance, but Katara looked at him with a smile that told him to join the group hug. It didn’t reach her eyes, but for the sake of everyone looking at him expectantly, he shuffled forward. Toph tugged him forward and he sighed. This feeling of friendship, Zuko couldn’t explain it, but it wasn’t unpleasant. And it made him realize something.  
  


Perhaps it was best to bury everything he still felt towards Katara. It was time to move forward.  
  


O.o.O.o


End file.
